Caught Between Worlds (Eren x Reader)

Chapter Five

The following day arrives.

Shifting my head to the right, the scent of herbal tea emits from my nightstand. I wrap my fingers around the handle of the mug and rise from my bed to take a few sips. The temperature has turned lukewarm, but the taste of black tea when I first wake is still a welcoming feeling.

"You slept a lot." Reiner sits at his desk, reading a random book. "It's past noon."

I look outside at the cloudy sky. The position of the sun confirms that I did indeed sleep for that long. "Sorry." I mumble to him, wiping the sleep off of my eyes.

A quiet humph of laughter comes from him as a small smile tugs at the side of his lips. "I envy you. I wish I could sleep like that. It must be nice."

"I hope you didn't wait here with me all day."

"I didn't want to leave you alone." A small frown forms within his thick brows. "I'm worried about that nightmare you had last night."

My face grows hot, Mr. Kruger flashing before my eyes at the mention of my dreams. "O-oh...yeah." I look away uncomfortably, staring down at my lap.

"I wish you would tell me what it was about."

I quickly shake my head. "It's not something I'd really like to share with anyone. It's...personal." I say the last bit awkwardly. "I'll be okay." Peeking up at him, I can tell by the look on his face that he's unconvinced.

He rises from his chair and approaches me. "Are you sure?"

I notice the deep eye bags under his eyes again, along with his sunken cheeks. Instead of answering his question, I turn it back towards him. "Are you alright? You've really changed since you got back from the war."

He blinks slowly as he breathes in a breath to respond. "Yeah, I'm fine."

While my words are unconvincing to him, his are to me as well. It seems we both have some deep problems we're not willing to share with one another. "Okay..." I reply quietly. I bring my attention to my mug of tea and slowly sip away at it.

There's a sudden knock on the door.

Gabi and Falco poke their heads in the room. "Can we come in?" Falco asks.

Before an answer can be given, Gabi just barges in. She carries in a paper bag in her arms and places it down on the nightstand. "I brought you breakfast--err--lunch, I guess."

"Gabi, that's rude!" Falco begins to scold her. "You shouldn't just barge in like that!"

Udo and Zofia step in behind Falco. Zofia hands me a small vase of flowers. "We heard what happened at the hospital." She tells me. "I know you didn't want to say who upset you, but Zeke found who it was."

My heart begins to race. "He did?"

"Why do you look so worried?" Gabi asks me. "That thug is going to get exactly what he deserves. No one should be able to talk to you the way he did."

I sigh at her words and bring my attention back to my lap. She's right, I suppose. I don't exactly know why I was afraid to expose Mr. Kruger. There's just something about him. He's crude, there's no doubt about that. But for some reason, I couldn't tell anyone who he was or the horrible things he said to me.

"It's strange though." Udo comments. "Zeke wouldn't tell us who he was. It seemed he just wanted to drop the whole thing and forget about it."

"Yeah, that pissed me off." Gabi adds.

"Well," I start. "I would like to just forget about it. Honestly, I'd like to just get back to work. It kind of feels like I'm being punished for what happened."